Kirkgate: Repair works to Leeds street hit by further delays one year on from building collapse
Buildings on a historic street in Leeds remain in a crumbling state after the latest in a string of delays to planned repairs.
Leeds City Council hoped to start maintenance work on Lower Kirkgate last month, a year after the partial collapse of a building.
Part of the street, which is one of the city’s oldest, is boarded up and it has been closed to traffic since last April.
The council was given legal authority to carry out repairs on six unsafe buildings and reclaim the cost, estimated at around £700,000.
The council said structural surveys were carried out in March and it hoped to give an update on the repairs “in the next few weeks”.
A spokesperson said: “It should also be stressed that stabilisation work such as this, which involves important heritage assets, needs extremely careful planning and preparation.
“The drawing up of detailed designs for the stabilisation work began in March and, due to the complexity and scale of this process, it unfortunately did not prove possible, as originally anticipated, to make a full start on site during April.”
Last December and urgent works notice (UWN) was served on City Fusion Ltd, giving the company 28 days to start repair work.
The process had to be delayed after it emerged that ownership of five of the buildings had been transferred to another company, Kirkgate Land Residential Ltd.
New notices were served and the council was able to intervene after a March 12 deadline passed.
The spokesperson said: “To be clear, the current course of action was a last resort by the council after the owners allowed these historic buildings to fall into a state of disrepair and then failed to take the necessary steps to make them safe.
“We hope to provide an update in the next few weeks on the expected timescale for the work, and thank residents, businesses and the wider Leeds community for their continued patience and support.”